THE opening of BlackBerry’s Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (CCoE) to upskill Malaysian workers will help the country meet its target of 25,000 cybersecurity professionals by next year and strengthen regional security, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
With its training and capacity-building efforts, he said the centre will focus on enhancing threat intelligence sharing, fostering regional cooperation to reduce cybersecurity threats and combating cybercrimes.
He also said there was a shortfall of 12,000 cybersecurity professionals in the country.
“We need 25,000 workers in cybersecurity by 2025,” the prime minister said at the opening ceremony of the BlackBerry CCoE in Cyberjaya today.
“We envision this centre as a capacity-building hub for the Southeast Asian region, with particular focus on increasing threat intelligence sharing, and fostering regional cooperation in mitigating cyber security threats and combating cybercrime,” he said.
The ceremony was also attended by Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia (MCMC) chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki and Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.
Anwar also said that universities, research institutions and skilled information technology workers from Malaysia and Canada could share cyber intelligence and may be able to jointly develop methods as well as strategies to strengthen national and regional cyber resilience.
Stating that the government has been working diligently in attracting an all-time high RM329.5 billion foreign direct investment recorded last year, Anwar praised the CCoE's establishment and described it as an important milestone in the country's journey towards creating a robust cyber security ecosystem.
Last November, an agreement between BlackBerry and the government was signed in San Francisco during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.
Anwar was proud to note that Cyberjaya was chosen as the location of the CCoE.
"This effort will ultimately create high-value job opportunities for the people, in line with the MADANI Economy: Empowering the People.
“Malaysia intends to achieve the common goal of creating a globally competitive skills and learning ecosystem in the Indo-Pacific region.
"Under this framework, the government has also introduced various initiatives to help accelerate the growth of enterprises and services to significantly increase their productivity as well as develop Malaysia's cyber security competence in the digital domain," he said.
The premier believes to achieve a safer digital environment, private and public sectors should work together for information sharing and exchange of expertise between government agencies and other stakeholders including sharing actionable threat intelligence.
"By forging international partnerships, particularly those that leverage advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, demonstrate the importance of the positive growth of our economic trajectory.
"Through this strategic collaboration, we not only stimulate progress and economic prosperity but also increase the resilience of our cyber security infrastructure against the various risks that plague the digital landscape, by ensuring that national data, conversations and citizens are safe," Anwar said.
Meanwhile, Ng said, the global need for innovative cybersecurity solutions continues to grow in the digital era.
“I am happy that Canada's expertise in this field is helping to create a safer cyberspace in Malaysia.
“Today's announcement by BlackBerry is a clear example of how the Indo-Pacific and Canadian strategies support efforts to reduce and address security threats in the region," she said.
Located within the premises of MCMC, Fahmi said the CCoE will begin an entry-level programme next month.
“It will be expanded to professional programmes gradually that include the advanced level in July and expert level by November,” said Fahmi, adding that a specialist level programme will commence in June next year. - The Vibes, March 26, 2024
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